The  Mission 


of 


Baptist  Churches 


in 


European  Lands 


BY 

THOMAS  S.  BARBOUR, 

Foreign  Secretary 


[Reprinted  from  ’  The  Baptist  Mis  s  io  n  aryl  Mag  a  z  in  e.~\ 


AMERICAN 

BAPTIST  FOREIGN  MISSION!  SOCIETY 

Boston,  Mass. 


The  following  pages  were  prepared  at  the 
close  of  a  journey  made  a  few  years  since 
to  countries  of  Europe  in  which  the  American 
Baptist  Foreign  Mission  Society  has  given 
some  measure  of  co-operation  in  the  work  of 
Baptist  Churches.  Since  that  time,  changes 
of  great  moment  have  occurred  in  certain 
lands  of  Continental  Europe,  notably  in 
France,  Russia,  Norway,  Portugal  and  Spain. 
These  changes  testify  to  the  certain  trend  in 
the  life  of  the  world  toward  recognition  of  the 
principles  of  religious  freedom.  To  this  devel¬ 
opment  Baptist  Churches  must  be  recognized 
as  having  made  direct  and  influential  contribu¬ 
tion,  for  wherever  found,  if  true  to  their 
profession,  they  have  disseminated  ideas  which 
are  at  the  heart  of  all  free  institutions.  The 
powerful  appeal  for  practical  sympathy  and 
co-operation  presented  in  existing  conditions 
will  be  apparent  to  all. 


THE  MISSION  OF  BAPTIST 
CHURCHES  IN  EUROPEAN 
LANDS. 


By  Thomas  S.  Barbour,  Foreign  Secretary  of 
the  American  Baptist  Foreign 
Mission  Society. 


T  one  of  the  annual  meetings  of  the 
American  Baptist  Missionary  Union 
held  in  the  city  of  Detroit,  Dr. 
Lemuel  Moss,  in  referring  to  the 
claims  upon  American  Baptists  of  work  in 
European  mission  fields,  used  the  following 
illustration : 

A  young  singer  was  meeting  an  engagement 
at  a  public  concert.  The  experience  was  new 
to  her,  and  her  voice  trembled  and  threatened 
to  break.  It  chanced  that  an  older  singer  was 
present  to  whom  the  song  was  familiar.  Ob¬ 
serving  the  embarrassment  of  her  young  sister, 
she  looked  toward  her,  smiling  encouragement, 
and  began  to  sing  softly  with  her  the  first 
strains  of  the  music.  Courage  returned  to  the 
young  artist;  her  voice  grew  firm,  and  soon 
the  hall  was  filled  by  the  rich  volume  of  her 
song.  It  is  the  privilege  of  our  churches  to 
render  a  like  gracious  and  fraternal  service  to 
the  little  companies  who,  scattered  through 
European  lands,  are  attempting  a  song  not 
unfamiliar  .to  American  Baptists.  A  visit 
made  to  six  of  the  eight  fields  in  which  our 
work  in  Europe  is  carried  on  has  given  the 
writer  a  keen  realization  both  of  the  difficulties 
and  the  vast  importance  of  the  service  ren¬ 
dered  by  these  little  churches  of  Europe. 

A  Work  Both  Common  and  Unique 

It  is  apparent  that  the  task  set  before  these 
Christian  disciples  is  peculiarly  involved. 


A 

H6 


4 


Essentially,  it  is  the  same  with  that  of  Chris¬ 
tian  effort  in  all  lands,  to  win  men  to  accept¬ 
ance  of  Christ  and  to  full  experience  of  His 
indwelling  grace.  The  song  these  disciples 
would  raise  is  the  full  choral  of  the  gospel. 
But  the  task  of  Christian  workers,  while  the 
same  in  all  lands,  varies  with  the  environment 
in  which  their  work  is  wrought.  A  distinctive 
work  set  before  the  dissenting  churches  of 
Europe  is  that  of  service  in  behalf  of  liberty 
for  the  soul.  This  task,  obviously,  involves 
more  than  securing  release  from  restrictions 
imposed  upon  these  churches  by  the  civil 
power.  This,  in  itself,  would  be  but  a  small 
good.  They  must  seek  to  secure  a  genuine  ac¬ 
ceptance  for  the  principles  of  religious  free¬ 
dom.  It  is  evident,  too,  that  their  work  will 
not  end  with  this.  They  will  desire  to  secure 
general  acceptance  for  those  allied  teachings 
of  Christianity,  widely  forgotten  in  the  great 
representative  churches  of  Europe,  which  un¬ 
derlie  genuine  acceptance  of  the  principles  of 
religious  freedom.  It  is  these  features  of  the 
task,  resulting  from  peculiar  conditions  in 
Europe,  which  give  distinctive  interest  to  a 
study  of  Christian  work  in  European 
countries.  It  is  by  success  in  these  efforts 
Christian  disciples  are  to  be  set  free  for  full 
accomplishment  of  the  common  aim  of  Chris¬ 
tian  effort. 

Notable  Gains  for  Religious  Freedom 

It  is  evident  that  in  vthe  countries  of  Europe 
much  advance  has  been  made  upon  former 
times  in  the  removal  of  restrictions  and  the 
relief  of  oppressions  from  which  Baptist 
churches,  in  common  with  other  dissenting 
bodies  in  the  several  countries  of  Europe, 
have  suffered.  The  story  of  former  days — 
the  horrors  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition;  the 
slaughter  of  the  Huguenots ;  the  fires  of 
Smithfield,  kindled  now  for  the  Protestant 
and  now  for  the  Romanist :  the  drowning  at 
Zurich  of  Felix  Manz,  the  lieutenant  of 


Zwingli ;  and  the  burnings  in  Germany  and 
in  Holland  of  those  who,  like  Manz,  “had  been 
rebaptized  and  persevered  in”  their  baptism — 
reads  likea  fable.  Everywhere  a  gain  appears 
in  less  ligorous  laws.  Even  in  Spain  and 
other  countries  of  Europe,  where  Roman 
Catholicism  holds  unbroken  control,  there  is 
a  measure  of  religious  toleration,  and  extreme 
forms  of  persecution  are  rarely  known.  In 
Piotestant  Europe,  the  penalties  of  imprison¬ 
ment  and  banishment  from  which  earlier  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  Baptist  churches  suffered,  as 
a  rule,  are  no  longer  imposed.  Members  of 
dissenting  churches  in  many  parts  of  the 
German  Empire,  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  Nor- 
way,  and  Finland,  as  in  England,  practically 
are  free  as  their  neighbors  of  the  established 
churches.  Meetings  for  worship  may  be  held 
freely  and  little  restraint  is  put  upon  public 
preaching.  Among  continental  countries  Nor¬ 
way  has  an  advanced  position  as  respects  lib¬ 
eration  fiom  the  old  thraldom.  Here,  so  earlv 
as  the  year  1845,  what  is  known  as  the  “dis¬ 
senting  law”  was 'adopted,  securing  to  all  bod¬ 
ies  “confessing  the  Christian  faith”  large  free¬ 
dom  in  worship.  In  Hungary  laws  are  lib¬ 
eral,  a  contrast  being  shown  in  this  respect 
with  its  twin  country,  Austria.  In  Finland' 
also,  where  the  unique  situation  is  presented 
of  an  old  established  church  representing  a  re¬ 
ligious  faith  differing  from  that  of  the  gov¬ 
erning  powei ,  a  similar  degree  of  freedom 
from  restraint  prevails. 

Sentiment  in  Advance  of  Law. 

A  most  interesting  and  significant  feature 
of  the  situation  in  Europe  in  general  is  shown 
in  the  fact  that  public  sentiment  in  its  favor 
toward  liberality  is  notably  in  advance  of  law. 
A  marked  illustration  of  this  is  to  be  seen  in 
Sweden,  where  the  lazvs  are  scarcely  more 
tolerant  than  in  the  days  of  open  persecution. 
The  priest  of  the  established  Lutheran 
Church  theoretically  may  secure  the  punish- 


6 


ment  of  any  dissenting  preacher,  not  definitely 
licensed  by  the  government,  who  attempts 
work  in  his  parish.  Parliament  still  refuses 
to  modify  the  law.  The  recommendation  of 
the  king  in  favor  of  adoption  of  the  dissenting 
law  of  Norway  was  defeated.  But  in  recent 
years,  all  attempts  at  prosecution  of  dissent¬ 
ing  pastors  under  the  laws  have  failed.  Such 
cases  are  certain  upon  some  pretext  to  be  dis¬ 
missed  by  the  higher  courts.  Members  of  dis¬ 
senting  churches  in  Sweden  are  wont  to  say 
that  if  the  laws  of  the  country  would  but  con¬ 
form  to  actual  practice,  they  could  desire  little 
more. 

As  a  further  illustration  of  this  relatively 
advanced  state  of  public  sentiment,  it  js  note¬ 
worthy  that  churches  in  Norway  and  in  Den¬ 
mark  which  have  not  accepted  the  recognition 
proffered  by  the  government,  practically  suffer 
less  restriction  in  their  work  than  is  involved 
in  acceptance  of  recognition.  .  Evidently, 
persecution  because  of  opinion  is  becoming 
unpopular.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  it 
is  to  the  power  of  this  more  liberal  world- 
sentiment  that  such  immunity  as  Protestant 
churches  enjoy  in  Roman  Catholic  lands  is  to 
be  attributed.  Persecution,  because  of  re¬ 
ligious  conviction  or  practices,  is  frowned 
upon  by  the  common  sentiment  of  the  Western 
world. 

In  France,  a  situation  exceptional  and  of 
surpassing  interest  recently  has  developed. 
The  contest  for  the  release  of  the  schools  from 
the  control  of  ecclesiastical  orders  has 
strengthened  a  movement,  long  growing,  for 
the  complete  separation  of  State  and  Church.* 
The  forces  promoting  this  movement  are  not 
exclusively  or  primarily  Christian,  yet  the 
change,  if  realized,  scarcely  can  fail  to  give 
strong  impetus  to  the  work  of  dissenting 
churches.  On  a  Sunday  afternoon  of  last 
summer  the  writer,  having  attended  a  service 
at  our  Rue  Meslay  Chapel  in  Paris,  on  leav¬ 
ing  the  locality  in  company  with  the  pastor, 


*  The  full  result  was  reached  in  1905. 


7 


Mr.  Saillens,  passed  near  the  two  noble  arches 
now  forming  the  Porte  St.  Martin  and  the 
Porte  St.  Denis,  which  constituted  the  gate¬ 
ways  of  the  Paris  of  two  hundred  years  ago. 
These  structures  were  raised  in  commemora¬ 
tion  of  victories  achieved  by  King  Louis  XI V 
over  Protestant  Holland  and  Germany. 
Scarcely  ten  years  after  their  erection,  the 
king,  stimulated  to  a  crowning  effort  as  De¬ 
fender  of  the  Faith,  signed  the  act  in  revoca¬ 
tion  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and  the  storm  of 
persecution  broke  forth  upon  the  French 
Huguenots.  Conspicuous  upon  one  of  these 
arches  is  the  figure  of  the  king,  standing  with 
his  foot  upon  a  prostrate  form  symbolic  of 
Protestantism,  while  an  angel  crowns  his  head 
with  a  wreath  of  laurel.  We  had  scarcely  left 
the  ancient  arch  when  a  carriage  passed  us, 
within  which  we  caught  sight  of  the  red  hat  of 
a  cardinal.  The  occupant,  there  is  little  doubt, 
was  the  papal  nuncio ,  who  on  that  afternoon 
withdrew  from  Paris  on  his  return  to  Rome, 
as  a  result  of  the  strained  relations  between 
the  French  Government  and  the  Vatican. 

The  Contest  Not  Yet  Ended. 

But  while  these  gains  give  occasion  for  gen¬ 
uine  satisfaction,  it  is  apparent  that  victory  in 
the  contest  in  which  the  Baptist  churches  of 
Europe  are  engaged  in  still  far  from  a  full 
realization.  Even  the  task  of  securing  re¬ 
lease  from  oppressive  disabilities  is  not  yet 
accomplished.  Where  Roman  Catholicism  still 
controls,  these  disabilities  are  as  serious  as 
the  government  dare  make  them  in  deference 
to  the  growing  world-sentiment.  In  Spain, 
while  the  law  nominally  accords  freedom  of 
worship,  all  “public  manifestation”  of  any 
other  than  the  state  religion  is  disallowed.* 
Street  preaching,  the  affixing  of  a  sign  upon 
a  place  of  worship,  even  the  erection  of  a  house 
of  worship  in  a  form  suggestive  of  a  church 
edifice,  is  forbidden.  Social  persecution  is 


*  The  laws  have  recently  been  materially  modified. 


8 


severe,  and  certainly  is  not  frowned  upon  by 
the  average  governmental  official.  In  some 
parts  of  the  German  Empire,  for  example  in 
Saxony,  conditions  are  scarcely  less  hostile. 
Public  services  are  prohibited,  and  the  holding 
of  private  meetings,  except  as  these  are  spe¬ 
cifically  licensed.  The  police  are  free  to  at¬ 
tend  all  meetings  of  dissenting  bodies,  and 
may  dissolve  them  at  their  pleasure.  It  is  in 
the  power  of  unfriendly  officials  to  cause 
much  annoyance  to  the  worshipers.  Through¬ 
out  Germany  and  in  Scandinavian  countries 
the  public  cemeteries  are  claimed  as  the  prop¬ 
erty  of  the  established  church,  and  often  an¬ 
noying  restrictions  are  placed  upon  services 
connected  with  the  burial  of  the  dead.  As  a 
rule,  members  of  a  dissenting  body  are  not 
permitted  to  teach  in  a  public  school,  as  re¬ 
ligious  instruction  in  the  schools  must  accord 
with  the  established  faith.  In  Russia,  while 
dissenting  worship  is  permitted  among  for¬ 
eign  peoples,  native  Russians  are  claimed  as 
members  of  the  national  Greek  Church  at 
birth,  and  are  allowed  no  exit  from  its  fold.* 
Dissenting  churches  are  prohibited  from  in¬ 
fluencing  adherents  of  the  Greek  Church 
under  threat  of  severe  penalties. 

'  In  all  countries  of  Europe  a  church  estab¬ 
lishment  is  maintained, f  and  in  the  continental 
countries  the  establishment  is  supported  by 
public  taxation.];  Where  recognition's  of¬ 
fered  to  dissenting  churches,  as  in  the  Scandi¬ 
navian  countries,  such  recognition  involves 
subjection  of  the  church  to  the  civil  power,  as, 


*  The  recent  edict  of  religious  toleration  has  relieved 
these  conditions  in  theory  and  modified  them  in  practice. 

f  To  this  France  is  now  an  exception,  and  Portugal 
is  rapidly  advancing  to  disestablishment.  In  Germany  three 
churches,  Roman  Catholic,  Lutheran  and  Reformed,  receive 
support  from  the  government — in  Scandinavian  countries  the 
Lutheran  only. 

%  In  parts  of  Germany  exemption  from  the  tax  is  allowed 
those  giving  notice  to  the  government  of  formal  separation 
from  the  established  church,  and  in  Sweden  and  Denmark 
certain  minor  taxes,  e.  g.,  that  for  the  service  of  pastors  of 
the  established  church  in  burial  of  the  dead  and  in  the  cele¬ 
bration  of  marriage,  are  remitted  in  the  case  of  members  of 
“recognized  churches.’’ 


9 


for  example,  in  requirement  of  official  ap¬ 
proval  of  the  choice  of  pastors,  and  in  a  prac¬ 
tical  prohibition  of  the  discipline  of  its  mem¬ 
bers  by  exclusion  from  its  fellowship. 

The  Nature  of  True  Liberty 
Unrecognized. 

It  is  plain  that  facts  like  these  indicate  not 
only  that  the  contest  for  religious  freedom 
is  not  fully  won,  but  that,  even  in  .the  freer 
states  of  Europe,  there  is  little  appreciation 
of  the  nature  of  genuine  liberty.  So  far  as 
the  position  of  civil  governments  is  concerned, 
it  is  apparent  that  the  highest  attainment 
thus  far  reached  is  that  of  tolerance  of  teach¬ 
ing  conflicting  with  that  endorsed  by  the  State. 
The  right  of  State  control  is  not  denied; 
rather  it  is  affirmed,  explicitly  or  implicitly. 
Coercion  on  the  part  of  the  State  is  not  con¬ 
demned  as  illegitimate;  it  is  only  disused. 
Apparently  both  the  employment  and  the  ex¬ 
tent  of  the  use  of  coercion  are  regarded  solely 
as  matters  of  expediency.  Even  resort  to 
force  in  repression  of  opinions  is  regarded 
as  unbecoming  rather  than  morally  reprehen¬ 
sible.  This  conviction  will  hardly  be  escaped 
by  those  considering  thoughtfully  the  attitude 
of  the  civil  authorities  in  European  countries 
toward  dissenting  religious  faiths.  There 
could  be  no  more  striking  proof  of  the  fact 
that  in  the  concessions  made  to  liberality  in 
European  lands  the  civil  power  reserves  to 
itself  the  right  to  coercion,  than  is  afforded 
in  the  action  of  the  British  Government  in 
the  educational  regulations  now  enforced 
against  the  indignant  protest  of  dissenting 
bodies.  Plainly,  the  citadel  of  religious  des¬ 
potism  is  not  yet  carried  in  Europe. 

I 

The  Deeper  Work  Far  from  Completion. 

And,  as  recognition  and  exemplification  of  a 
genuine  spirit  of  religious  liberty  is  a  good 


10 


still  to  be  attained  in  the  established  churches 
of  Europe,  so  it  must  be  recognized  that  the 
deeper  aim  of  securing  in  these  organizations 
recognition  of  the  spiritual  nature  of  genuine 
religion  is  still  remote  from  realization.  A 
cold  formalism,  lifeless  ceremonialism  and 
spiritual  lethargy,  are  characteristic  of  the 
established  churches.  The  influence  of  church 
establishments  is  directly  hostile  to  recogni¬ 
tion  of  religion  as  spiritual;  for  these  estab¬ 
lishments  normally  are  co-extensive  with  the 
State.  Entrance  into  church  relationship  is 
by  natural  birth,  or  by  a  ceremony  following 
closely  upon  natural  birth.  Regeneration  be¬ 
comes  an  unknown  term,  or  one  to  which  a 
merely  ceremonial  significance  is  attached. 
Church  ordinances,  dismissed  from  their  ap¬ 
pointed  service  as  an  expression  of  a  con¬ 
scious,  personal,  spiritual  experience,  become 
channels  of  sacramental  grace.  Pastors  and 
members  alike  are  ignorant  of  personal  ex¬ 
perience  of  conversion.  Pastors  are  appointed 
to  their  work  by  the  civil  ruler  or  purchase 
ecclesiastical  positions  with  money.  This  is 
church  establishment,  under  whatever  name. 
Where  individuals  connected  with  these  bodies 
come  to  an  apprehension  of  spiritual  truth  and 
the  enjoyment  of  spiritual  experience,  it  is  in 
spite  of,  rather  than  because  of,  the  influences 
which  a  church  establishment  as  such  begets. 

So  large  and  so  hallowed  is  the  task  to 
which  Christian  believers  of  a  spiritual  faith 
in  European  lands  are  called.  This  is  their 
greater  mission,  for  which  the  mere  annulling 
of  unrighteous  laws  and  release  from  oppres¬ 
sive  exactions  will  but  set  them  free. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  members  of 
Baptist  churches  are  without  allies  in  their 
effort  to  secure  this  great  good.  It  would  be 
quite  superfluous  to  refer  to  the  devoted  char¬ 
acter  and  strongly  evangelical  conviction  of  a 
large  body  in  the  fellowship  of  the  Church 
of  England.  And  like  pure  spirits  are  found 
in  other  lands.  One  cannot  escape  the  im- 


11 


pression  that  it  is  significant  that  prevalence 
of  evangelical  conviction  and  warmth  of  spir¬ 
itual  life  in  established  churches  in  the  sev¬ 
eral  countries  of  Europe  are  proportional  to 
the  strength  of  evangelical  dissenting  bodies. 

Evangelical  Movements  in  State 
Churches. 

To  confine  our  thought  to  those  countries 
in  which  our  own  mission  work  is  prosecuted, 
a  feature  of  the  existing  situation  deeply  in¬ 
teresting  is  the  development  within  the  estab¬ 
lished  churches  of  a  strong  movement  repre¬ 
senting  evangelical  conviction  and  evangelistic 
methods.  These  are  comparatively  of  recent 
origin.  Sunday-schools  are  organized  and 
young  people’s  societies.  The  building  of 
plain  meeting  houses  for  working  classes  is 
significant  of  the  ardor  with  which  many,  con¬ 
scious  of  the  defects  of  their  church  life,  are 
seeking*  to  remedy  existing  conditions.  In  all 
countries  of  Europe  bodies  of  devout  Chris¬ 
tians  are  found  in  the  established  churches, 
and  movements  for  the  promotion  of  purity 
in  doctrine  and  an  earnest  spiritual  life  are 
developing  under  many  names.  Very  inter¬ 
esting  is  one  of  these  developments,  promi¬ 
nent,  for  example,  in  the  Lutheran  churches 
in  Norway,  which  is  known  as  “The  Inner 
Mission” — a  movement  within  and  yet  distinct 
from  the  established  church.  Its  supporters 
rarely  attend  the  regular  worship  of  the 
church ;  they  maintain  separate  services  and 
separate  houses  of  worship.  Yet  their  work 
receives  support  from  the  established  chyrch, 
which  seeks  to  hold  their  allegiance ;  and  they 
refuse  to  have  any  part  in  the  worship  of 
dissenting  bodies.  While  recognizing  the 
church  as  given  over  to  formalism,  and  dis¬ 
satisfied  with  its  doctrinal  teaching,  they  are 
as  reluctant  to  part  company  with  it  as  John 
Wesley  was  to  separate  from  the  Church  of 
England. 


12 


But  it  is  apparent  that  the  promoters  of 
these  movements  contend  against  difficulties 
which  make  their  attempt  well-nigh  hopeless. 
For  their  effort,  from  the  outset,  is  embar¬ 
rassed  almost  fatally  by  the;  teaching  and 
practice  of  the  church  with  which  they  are 
affiliated.  Practically,  they  must  concede  that 
all  are  Christians  who  are  included  in  the  fel¬ 
lowship  of  the  established  church.  Thus  they 
can  invite  men  only  to  reformation  and  not 
to  a  new  beginning  of  spiritual  life.  The 
evangelical  preacher  cannot  say  to  his  hear¬ 
ers  what  Christ  said  to  Nicodemus:  “Ye 
must  be  born  again.”  To  give  clear  testimony 
concerning  the  new  birth,  or  to  imply  that 
any  in  his  congregation  are  in  need  of  the 
regenerating  work  of  the  Spirit,  would  be 
to  excite  bitter  opposition.  Indeed,  the  pastor 
has  no  right  to  do  this  while  remaining  within 
the  church.  The  Lord’s  Supper,  too,  must 
be  administered  to  all,  without  discrimina¬ 
tion  against  either  immorality  or  ignorance 
of  vital  Christian  experience.  Some  pastors 
have  endeavored  to  exercise  control  as  to  this, 
but  the  effort  is  deeply  resented  by  their  fel¬ 
low-pastors  and  is  inconsistent  with  their  posi¬ 
tion  as  teachers  in  the  established  church. 

Other  Dissenting  Bodies. 

Our  Baptist  churches  have  allies  also  in 
sister  church  organizations.  Methodist 
churches,  and  bodies  having  some  affiliation 
with  Congregationalists,  are  most  prominent 
among  these.  As  a  rule,  the  membership  of 
these  organizations  is  not  large.  Besides 
these  churches,  there  is  a  considerable  com¬ 
pany  of  Christian  people  who  have  so  far 
reacted  against  the  rigid  organization  and 
the  sacerdotalism  of  church  establishments  as 
to  reject  all  formal  organization.  The  Ply¬ 
mouth  Brethren,  and  others  known  distinct¬ 
ively  as  followers  of  Darby,  are  relatively 
strong  in  France,  in  Spain  and  in  Protestant 


13 


Europe.  And  other  groups  of  people,  having 
scarcely  so  much  as  a  name,  by  whom  any¬ 
thing  suggestive  of  organization,  even  enroll¬ 
ing  of  members,  is  repudiated,  are  found  in 
these  countries.  Besides  these  fellowships, 
whose  members  in  their  sincere  Christian  aim 
are  allied  with  the  work  to  which  our  Baptist 
churches  are  committed,  there  is  a  company 
indefinitely  large,  both  without  and  within 
the  established  churches,  who  repudiate  all 
religious  profession  and  oppose  all  religious 
teaching.  These  are  hostile  to  a  con¬ 
tinuance  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  and 
in  so  far  are  in  alliance  with  the  work 
Christian  bodies  are  attempting.  For  ex¬ 
ample,  the  Socialist  section  of  the  House  of 
Deputies  in  France,  which  represents,  in  gen¬ 
eral,  hostility  to  all  religious  teaching,  has 
been  strongly  influential  in  the  movement  for 
disestablishment. 

But,  while  many  are  co-operating  in  this 
movement,  there  are  indications  that  in  its 
promotion  those  who  share  the  convictions 
represented  by  Baptist  churches  have  certain 
advantages  over  others. 

Historical  Prominence  of  Baptists  in 
Promoting  Religious  Freedom. 

Historically,  it  is  conceded,  the  influence  of 
Baptist  churches  has  been  foremost  in  secur¬ 
ing  recognition  of  the  principles  of  religious 
liberty.  In  the  great  movement  which  devel¬ 
oped  in  Europe  after  the  days  of  the  Renais¬ 
sance  and  the  Reformation,  and  which,  con¬ 
fined  and  embarrassed  upon  the  Eastern  con¬ 
tinent,  reached  its  culmination  in  America, 
Baptists  confessedly  were  foremost.  It  would 
be  impossible  for  a  Baptist  to  write  more 
confidently  of  this  than  others  have  written. 
Thus,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  John  Locke, 
the  Unitarian,  recorded  his  conviction  that 
Baptists  were  the  first,  and  up  to  that  time 
had  been  the  only  promulgators  of  “abso- 


14 


lute  liberty,  just  and  true  liberty,  equal  and 
impartial  liberty.”  So  the  historian  Bancroft, 
referring  to  Roger  Williams  as  the  first  per¬ 
son  in  modern  Christendom  to  affirm  the  doc¬ 
trine  of  the  rights  of  conscience,  adds  :  “Free¬ 
dom  of  conscience  was  from  the  first  a  trophy 
of  the  Baptists.”  And  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon, 
widely  honored  as  a  leader  in  the  Congrega- 
tionalist  body,  writes :  “It  has  been  claimed 
for  Baptist  churches  that,  from  the  age  of 
the  Reformation  onward,  they  have  been  al¬ 
ways  foremost  and  always  consistent  in  main¬ 
taining  the  doctrine  of  religious  liberty.  Let 
me  not  be  understood  as  calling  in  question 
their  right  to  so  great  an  honor.” 

It  is  not  unnatural  to  believe  that  the  little 
Baptist  churches  found  through  European 
lands,  from  the  straits  of  Gibraltar  to  beyond 
the  Arctic  Circle,  are  holding  a  similar  promi¬ 
nence  in  securing  to  the  countries  of  Europe 
the  large  good  which  all  men  of  generous  im¬ 
pulse  must  covet  for  them.  To  say  this  is 
not  to  claim  personal  superiority  for  those 
connected  with  these  churches.  It  is  obvious 
that  whatever  advantage  they  enjoy  is  trace¬ 
able  to  their  use  of  weapons  mighty  for  the 
pulling  down  of  the  strongholds  of  ecclesias- 
ticism  and  formal  worship. 


Clear  Avowal  of  Freedom  of  Conscience. 

For  these  churches  possess  the  advantage 
derived  from  a  definite,  consistent  affirmation 
of  religious  liberty.  The  clear  teaching  which 
has  been  heard  wherever  Baptist  churches,  or 
men  of  conviction  identifying  them  with  Bap¬ 
tist  churches,  have  appeared,  which  expressed 
itself  in  England  thirty-three  years  before  the 
Westminster  Confession  committed  itself  to 
an  opposite  teaching  is  heard  in  the  countries 
of  Europe :  “The  magistrate  by  virtue  of  his 
office  is  net  to  meddle  with  religion  or  mat¬ 
ters  of  conscience,  nor  to  compel  men  to  this 
or  that  form  of  religion,  but  to  leave  the 


15 

Christian  religion  to  the  free  conscience  of 
any  one.”* 

And  advocacy  of  religious  freedom  by  Bap¬ 
tist  churches  is  not  characteristically  a  plea 
for  themselves.  It  is  a  demand  for  recognition 
of  the  rights  of  all,  evangelical  and  unevan¬ 
gelical,  Christian  and  non-Christian.  In  the 
state  of  Rhode  Island,  founded  when  the  fol¬ 
lowers  of  Roger  Williams  had  complete  con¬ 
trol,  notwithstanding  the  example  set  by 
church  establishments  and  the  prevalence  of 
religious  intolerance  in  neighboring  states,  a 
constitution  was  adopted  guaranteeing  “abso¬ 
lute  liberty  for  all  beliefs  and  practices  not 
conflicting  with  good  order  and  good  morals.” 
A  Baptist  church  would  dishonor  its  name  if 
it  should  fail  to  contend  for  “just  and  true 
liberty,  equal  and  impartial  liberty.” 

But  if  we  would  recognize  fully  the  advan¬ 
tage  belonging  to  Baptist  churches  in  their 
effort  to  promote  ideal  conditions  in  Europe, 
we  must  look  beneath  their  formal  confession 
of  religious  freedom.  For  it  must  be  held 
that  devotion  to  religious  liberty  is  itself  a 
resultant  of  deeper  forces.  The  thoughtful 
student  of  the  history  of  Baptist  churches  can¬ 
not  fail  to  recognize  that  it  is  not  by  accident 
that  respect  for  the  rights  of  conscience  has 
been  found  invariable  among  the  tenets  of 
Baptists ;  this  belief  has  appeared  always  in 
conjunction  with,  and  as  the  product  of,  more 
elemental  convictions. 

Consistent  Testimony  to  Religion  as 

Spiritual. 

We  recognize  then  among  the  forces  pro¬ 
moting  the  service  of  Baptist  churches  their 
clear,  consistent  teaching  regarding  the  spir¬ 
ituality  of  true  religion.  This  teaching  is  em¬ 
phasized  and  made  conspicuous  by  the  fact 
that,  among  Baptists,  only  those  making  con¬ 
fession  of  an  experience  of  divine  renewal  are 
received  into  membership  in  the  church  or 


*  From  the  Confession  of  English  Baptists  in  1614. 


16 


recognized  in  an  ordinance  of  the  church. 
Recognition  of  the  spirituality  of  religion  may 
justly  be  regarded  as  the  central  principle  in 
the  conviction  of  Baptist  churches.  This  was 
the  great  discovery  breaking  upon  those  who, 
in  many  ages  and  lands,  separated  themselves 
from  established  ecclesiastical  organizations — 
Religion  is  a  personal  relationship  between  a 
free  soul  and  the  personal  God,  and  nothing 
else  is  religion.  .  From  this  central  position 
obviously  the  well-known  characteristic  posi¬ 
tions  of  Baptist  churches  result  directly— the 
worthlessness  of  forms  as  such,  restriction  of 
religious  ordinances  to  those  participating  in 
them  by  personal  choice,  the  authority  of  ac¬ 
credited  divine  teaching,  the  right  of  every 
individual  to  seek  for  himself,  and  to  follow, 
divine  teaching  and  guidance,  the  criminality 
of  interference  with  the  free  discharge  of  this 
personal  right  and  accountability.  All  these 
positions  follow  by  necessity  from  the  convic¬ 
tion  that  religion  is  a  voluntary  personal  rela¬ 
tion  with  the  personal  God. 

It  is  clear  that  this  central  teaching  not  only 
represents  a  vast  good  in  itself,  but  is  the  root 
principle  of  religious  freedom.  State  estab¬ 
lishments  became  an  impossibility,  since  a  true 
church  membership  must  rest  on  a  spiritual 
basis.  Coercion  becomes  an  impossibility ;  if 
used,  its  results  would  be  worthless.  It  is  told 
of  one  Ternoot,  who  suffered  at  the  stake  in 
England  in  1575,  that  he  died  saying:  “They 
who  have  the  true  doctrine  will  not  persecute.” 
True  religion  belongs  to  another  realm  than 
that  in  which  the  civil  power  rules. 


Repudiation  of  Sacramental  Grace 

A  further  advantage  of  Baptist  churches  in 
the  mission  to  which  they  are  committed  is 
found  in  their  definite,  consistent  rejection  of 
the  doctrine  of  sacramental  grace.  The  belief 
that  saving  grace  is  communicated  through  the 
sacraments  of  the  church  is  the  bulwark  of 


17 


Church  establishments.  Historically,  it  has 
been  the  bulwark  of  coercion.  It  has  been 
always  the  alleged  justification,  and  often, 
without  doubt,  the  true  cause,  of  the  use  of 
force  in  dealing  with  heresy ;  the  belief  has 
prevailed  that  these  heretical  persons  must  be 
won  back  to  the  church  or  suffer  hopeless  loss. 

This  teaching  of  sacramental  grace  Baptist 
Churches  have  repudiated,  and  that  consist¬ 
ently.  All  ceremonial  is  discarded  except  as 
it  represents  personal  confession  of  an  inward 
experience  of  divine  grace.  Where  a  church 
ceremony  is  extended  to  infancy,  declaration 
of  the  worthlessness  of  ceremonies  is  obscured. 
To  retain  pure  ceremonialism  in  any  form 
apparently  is  to  concede  the  principle  of  sacra¬ 
mental  grace;  and  protest  against  the  work 
of  the  deadly  octopus  which  stifles  the  religious 
life  of  European  lands  is  weakened  or  de¬ 
stroyed.  Baptist  churches,  more  consistently 
than  others,  through  abandonment  of  every 
ordinance  not  expressive  of  conscious  rela¬ 
tionship  to  Christ,  oppose  the  doctrine  of  sac¬ 
ramental  grace. 

The  Affirmation  of  the  Principle  of 

Loyalty 

One  other  advantage  possessed  by  Baptist 
churches  in  their  service  for  European  lands 
is  found  in  their  consistent  advocacy  of 
loyalty  to  divine  authority.  This  principle, 
too,  is  the  direct  product  of  the  central  prin¬ 
ciple  in  Baptist  teaching,  and  is  itself  a  root 
principle  from  which  the  affirmation  of  re¬ 
ligious  liberty  is  a  certain  development.  The 
Confession  of  English  Baptists  in  1644  affirms, 
“There  is  but  one  law-giver  concerning  the 
worship  of  God,  that  is  Jesus  Christ;  so,  it  is 
the  magistrate's  duty  to  tender  the  liberty  of 
men’s  consciences,  without  which  all  other  lib¬ 
erties  will  not  be  worth  the  having.”  Indeed, 
in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  the  right  of  man 
to  freedom  from  human  constraint  is  corollary 


18 


to  the  supreme  principle  of  loyalty  to  God.  It 
may  be  doubted  if  any  passage  of  the  New 
Testament  contains  more  significant  teaching 
regarding  human  liberty  than  is  found  in  the 
injunction  of  our  Lord,  “Call  no  man  your 
master  upon  earth,  for  one  is  your  master  in 
heaven.” 

This  principle  of  loyalty  to  divine  authority, 
rightly  viewed,  will  not  be  thought  unattrac¬ 
tive.  Some,  indeed,  are  misled  at  this  point. 
Emphasis  upon  the  duty  of  loyalty  seems  to 
.them  to  restrain  and  repel.  The  mistake  is 
illustrated  in  those  bodies  in  Europe  which 
fancy  that  freedom  from  organization  will 
commend  them  to  the  favor  of  the  people.  The 
tendency  to  abandon  all  requirement  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  church  membership,  leaving  action 
in  relation  to  church  ordinances  wholly  to  the 
preference  of  the  people,  is  marked  in  these 
countries.  It  is  perhaps  natural  that  reaction 
from  the  rigid  organization  of  the  established 
churches,  and  the  assertion,  so  popular  in 
France,  of  “liberty,  equality  and  fraternity” 
should  dispose  some  to  abandonment  of  rule 
and  order  in  the  church.  But  thoughtful  men 
are  not  likely  to  be  attracted  by  this.  It  is 
not  freedom  from  requirement — the  oblitera¬ 
tion  of  safe  rules  for  human  guidance — for 
which  nobler  hearts  are  longing.  It  is  rather 
the  substituting  for  standards  representing 
only  fallible  and  arbitrary  authority,  a  stand¬ 
ard  in  which  the  soul  may  confide.  The 
thoughtful  mind  will  be  inclined  to  affirm  that 
it  is  by  its  revelation  of  trustworthy  instruc¬ 
tion  and  authority,  quite  as  truly  as  by  the 
lesson  of  liberty,  that  Christian  teaching  com¬ 
mends  itself  to  the  heart  of  mankind. 

Unguarded  Liberty  Perilous 

The  affirmation  of  loyalty  supplies  a  defect 
which  the  serious  mind  cannot  fail  to  recog¬ 
nize,  in  advocacy  of  liberty,  as  illustrated  by 
many.  For  liberty  in  itself  is  not  a  supreme 
good;  it  may  end  in  catastrophe.  It  is  not 


19 


alone  .the  ignoble  and  bigoted  in  the  national 
churches  of  Europe  who  contend  strongly  for 
the  perpetuation  of  church  establishments. 
Many  noble  minds  shrink  with  a  great  appre¬ 
hension  from  the  thought  of  a  disestablish¬ 
ment  which  to  them  is  synonymous  with  blank 
unbelief  and  lawlessness.  It  is  not  strange 
that  some  believe  that  the  adoption  and  main¬ 
tenance  of  standards  representing  the  judg¬ 
ment  and  experience  of  the  wisest  in  the  land, 
is  to  be  preferred  to  the  abandonment  of  man¬ 
kind  to  no  other  guidance  than  the  caprice  of 
individual  impulse  or  the  shiftings  of  popular 
sentiment.  To  such  souls  some  reassurance 
must  be  given  if  the  principles  of  liberty  are 
to  triumph.  Let  the  truth  be  received  that  all 
men  are  called  to  direct  relation  to  the  Su¬ 
preme  Ruler ;  that  it  is  their  privilege  to  re¬ 
ceive  guidance  from  Him,  and  to  yield  personal 
obedience  to  Him ;  then,  restraint  upon  human 
liberty  becomes  the  extremest  crime  which  can 
be  committed  against  the  soul  of  man.  The 
State  may  not  speak  because  God  has  spoken. 
Man  may  not  control  because  the  soul  may 
hear  for  itself  the  voice  of  God. 

Baptist  teaching,  if  true  to  its  history  and 
to  its  central  formative  principle,  presents  to 
the  world  this  thought  of  unswerving  loyalty 
to  the  authority  of  God.  It  stands  for  con¬ 
fidence  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  as  pre¬ 
senting  divinely  accredited  instruction  as  to 
truth  and  duty.  Even  its  adherence  to  a  pecu¬ 
liar  ceremony  is  significant  of  its  conviction  of 
the  sacredness  of  loyalty. 

In  the  city  of  Copenhagen,  the  fine  old  court¬ 
house  bears  upon  its  facade  a  motto  copied 
from  the  introduction  to  a  code  of  laws  of  the 
twelfth  century :  “With  law  shall  we  build 
the  land.”  With  law  must  the  worthy  life  and 
the  prevailing  Church  and  the  enduring  State 
be  builded. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  we  must  believe  that 
the  service  which  Baptist  churches  in  Europe 
are  quietly  accomplishing  will  be  found  in  the 


20 


end  both  vastly  influential  and  benignant. 
These  little  church  buildings,  strewn  through 
European  lands,  represent  a  great  good. 
However  few  in  number  or  humble  in  station 
their  worshipers  may  be,  they  are  conserving 
and  scattering  seed  in  which  is  the  promise  of 
a  harvest  that  one  day  shall  make  glad  the 
lands. 


A  Goodly  Fellowship 

To  these  characteristic  principles  our  breth¬ 
ren  in  continental  Europe  are  standing  true. 
To  meet  with  leaders  and  people  is  to  be  im¬ 
pressed  with  the  simplicity  and  strength  of 
the  convictions  controlling  them.  In  all  essen¬ 
tials  of  belief  and  practice,  many  among  them 
seem  mature  and  resolute  as  their  brethren  in 
lands  in  which  the  position  of  Baptist  churches 
is  strongly  established.  These  men  are  true 
successors  of  the  faithful  confessors  of  the 
past,  and  true  fellow-workers  of  all  in  our 
own  land  who  are  devoted  to  liberty  and  the 
upbuilding  of  spiritual  life.  To  these  workers 
our  warmest  sympathy  and  our  practical  co¬ 
operation  should  not  fail  to  be  extended. 
They  are  still  only  a  little  company.  While  in 
the  United  States  Baptists  number  more  than 
one  in  twenty  of  the  population,  in  Sweden 
they  are  but  one  in  120;  in  Denmark,  one  in 
500;  in  Norway,  one  in  800;  in  Finland,  one 
in  1,200;  in  Germany,  one  in  1,700;  in  Russia, 
dominated  by  the  Greek  Church,  one  in 
6,000*;  in  Roman  Catholic  France,  one  in 
17,000;  in  priest-ridden  Spain,  one  in  135,000. 
It  is  their  lot  to  fight  in  the  common  warfare 
where  the  battle  is  hardest.  They  contend 
against  powerful  social  influences.  Their 
houses  of  worship  are  humble  as  compared 
with  the  costly  structures  of  wealthy  church 
organizations.  Lethargy  and  indifference  be¬ 
gotten  by  the  formalism  of  State  churches 
make  their  task  difficult.  The  steady,  unre- 


*  Now  1  in  1450  if  a  recent  estimate  of  the  total  num¬ 
ber  of  those  virtually  Baptists  is  accepted. 


21 


mitting  drain  upon  their  membership,  particu¬ 
larly  in  Protestant  Europe,  through  emigration 
to  America,  saps  their  strength.  To  us  this 
tidal  movement  is  a  movement  of  incoming  to 
which  these  churches  contribute  the  best  ele¬ 
ments  of  social  and  spiritual  strength;  with 
them,  it  is  a  movement  of  outgoing,  carrying 
from  them  those  least  willingly  spared.  It 
costs  no  little  resolution  and  patriotic  devo¬ 
tion  to  hold  young  men  in  whom  ambition  is 
strong  to  the  task  given  to  these  churches  in 
the  life  of  Europe. 

But,  though  few,  and  contending  against 
great  odds,  the  members  of  these  churches 
are  waging  their  contest  with  a  stout  heart 
and  a  buoyant  hopefulness.  And  the  issue  of 
the  struggle  cannot  be  doubted.  John  Adams 
said  to  the  two  Baptist  leaders,  Isaac  Backus 
and  President  Manning  of  Brown  University, 
when,  in  the  year  1774,  they  came  to  the  Con¬ 
tinental  Congress  to  plead  the  great  ideals  of 
religious  liberty:  “We  might  as  well  expect 
to  change  the  solar  system  as  to  expect  that 
the  States  will  give  up  their  establishments.” 
But  the  States  have  given  up  their  establish¬ 
ments,  and  in  the  First  Amendment  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  it  is  pro¬ 
vided  :  “Congress  shall  make  no  laws  re¬ 
specting  religion  or  prohibiting  the  free  exer¬ 
cise  thereof.” 

There  is  a  noble  musical  composition,  an 
overture  by  the  Russian  artist,  Tschaikovsky, 
which  finds  its  theme  in  the  supreme  struggle 
of  the  army  of  Napoleon  and  the  forces  of 
Russia.  The  national  hymns  of  France  and 
Russia  furnish  the  double  motive  of  the  music. 
At  first  the  stirring  strains  of  the  Marseillaise 
are  heard,  clear,  resounding,  jubilant.  But 
the  listener  catches  at  length  in  a  faint  cad¬ 
ence  a  strain  of  the  national  hymn  o f  Russia. 
For  a  moment  it  sounds,  and  then  is  lost  to 
the  ear ;  but  soon  it  recurs  in  a  more  protracted 
movement.  Gradually  the  French  anthem 
falters  and  breaks;  its  notes  become  less 


22 


confident.  So  the  rival  songs  struggle  in  the 
supreme  conflict.  But  the  strains  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  hymn  grow  clearer  and  stronger,  until  at 
length  the  Marseillaise,  overwhelmed  by  the 
rival  music,  is  heard  no  more ;  and  in  an  out¬ 
burst  of  viols  and  drums  and  trumpets,  bells 
and  organ,  the  national  hymn  of  Russia  exults 
in  victory. 

Such  is  the  contest  in  which  these  little 
churches  of  Europe  contend  against  a  power, 
haughty  and  strong.  But  the  strains  of  their 
song  already  are  becoming  familiar  to  an  in¬ 
creasing  company  outside  their  immediate  fel¬ 
lowship.  Its  melody,  indeed,  is  but  the  inter¬ 
pretation  of  music  sounding  faintly  in  every 
human  heart.  And  so  surely  as  the  future 
holds  victory  for  God  and  truth,  one  day  the 
Russian,  the  Frenchman,  the  German, .  the 
Spaniard,  and  men  of  every  speech,  regaining 
their  native  utterance,  shall,  with  united 
voices,  acclaim  the  triumph  of  the  principles 
to  which  these  little  companies  of  Christian 
disciples  have  been  so  bravely  true. 


t 


/ 


